


The Last of Kaneda

by TheRisu



Category: Akira (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, Movie continuity, One Shot, Title is just a joke, Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRisu/pseuds/TheRisu
Summary: Quick thing I wrote at late night on a whim. Neo-Tokyo goes up in flames, Kaneda rescues a kid and re-evaluates his life while taking her to safety. Or something like that.





	The Last of Kaneda

_Just take her to the nearest shelter. Take her to the nearest shelter and problem solved._

Yeah, right. It sounded so easy back then, but of course it wouldn’t be.

Days had passed. Probably already a week.

It was hard to walk amongst the rubble.

“Mister Kaneda…”

And it was hard to listen to that voice as well.

He seemed to be turning for a second, but then continued looking forward.

“Kaneda.” he corrected, for the umpteenth time.

“…Mister Kaneda…” repeated the child, helplessly “Do you think… maybe… Do you think maybe we’re almost there?”

“We should be.”

“Because… my feet hurt…”

And then he stopped. And the child promptly stopped behind him, and recoiled.

“But only a little!” she added, trying to sound convinced, despite how awfully shaky her tone was.

And _then_ he turned.

But there wasn’t a single trace of severity in his gaze. It was rather reassuring.

“Do you need another break?” he inquired.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she just looked down, like someone who is really disappointed in themselves.

Kaneda shook his head and smiled.

“Come on, let’s sit over there…”

The child nodded timidly, clutching his hand as he led her towards a bench.

And he was still wondering, _why?_

Why was he still doing that?

Since _when_ was he like that?

Reality couldn’t be harsher. One would think that, after a _second_ explosion of that magnitude, things couldn’t possibly get worse. And indeed, for a while, they didn’t.

For a while, rebuilding the city _again_ and getting as many survivors as possible was the highest, shared priority. For a while, the scars seemed to be healing, and yet another chance seemed to be offered.

For a while.

But then too many people started getting justifiably upset at the clear confirmation of the government’s inability of learning from past mistakes. The riots returned, stronger than ever, and kept getting bigger and bigger, until the mention of a civil war stopped being a joke.

So, in case it wasn’t obvious enough, things were _positively_ ugly. Some had decided to stay and keep fighting, but a great majority was already attempting to migrate away.

And Kaneda couldn’t blame them. They hadn’t asked for this, and they definitely weren’t prepared for this. Hell, some years prior he _wouldn’t have been either_. He probably would have ran, too.

Yet, there he was. Helping out a little girl he had saved from a collapsing building.

He could have left her there. He could have left her with someone else. He could have just walked away. And _yet_.

There she was, still following him around and still clutching his hand. He could tell she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.

And he hated it.

He hated it, because the last time he had tried to protect someone, he had failed. Amazingly.

He wasn’t the right person. He couldn’t do this. It was like he was being compelled somehow.

Maybe, _just maybe_ , he was trying to make up for it. Maybe he was trying to redeem himself.

But, _again_ , why was he doing it? Why would he want to? He had always been a lost cause, and he never cared about it. What was happening to him?

Was it the age? Was he already _that_ old?

Or was it… _her_?

And with _her_ he wasn’t meaning the little girl, but _the other her_. The one who was still fighting, even though most of her allies were long gone.

Of course. _Of course it was her_.

That was just how much it burned, wasn’t it.

It wasn’t just shallow teen desire anymore. It had already started developing into something else even during those earlier times, so of course he was hitting rock bottom by now.

_Oh, Kei…_

He could openly assure that he wasn’t the greatest defender of the revolution, but he just couldn’t leave her behind.

He was already _way_ too committed for that. So much that maybe, _just maybe_ , he wouldn’t even mind dying alongside her.

And that was already one serious position he was putting himself into. Which was enough.

_And yet._

“Mister Kaneda, I think my feet aren’t hurting anymore…”

Kaneda sighed heavily. The child noticed, and gasped as she covered her mouth with both hands.

“S-sorry! I meant-”

“It’s okay, Makiko…” he replied, slowly getting back up “It’s not you, I was just… thinking about some stuff. So you’re ready to go?”

Makiko nodded, and smiled faintly as he held out his hand to retake hers.

And he hated that too. He hated that he knew her name, and that he was getting so used to it.

He wasn’t going to drop her at the shelter. He definitely wasn’t going to drop her at the shelter.

It was too late.

And, as he was mentally telling himself, he had already taken _one_ serious position. _Two_ of them was a sealed death warrant.

**_And yet._ **


End file.
